世纪之交:现代中药药理学的回顾与展望

几千年来， 中医药学的发展基本是一种封闭式的。虽然，在发展过程中，也曾不断吸收一些外国医学的内容，但中医药学主要靠自身经验的积累和提高，形成自己独特的、系统的理论和实践，为我国人民的健康繁衍和国家昌盛，作出了重大的贡献。到19 世纪末，20 世纪初，先进的西方医学引进中国，中医药学面临两种前景：或者是被排斥消灭，或者是汲取西医长处继续发展向前进。我国老一辈的医学家，尤其是受现代医学教育的医学家，其中有很多人在20 世纪从事把中西医学融合一起的伟大的、艰巨的工作，并取得很大成就。在中西医结合工作中，中药的现…

At the turn of century:looking back and forward the development of modern herbal pharmacology

In the 20th Century，modern pharmacology of traditional Chinese drugs（herbal pharmacology）has been developed by Chinese pharmacologists，clinicians and related scientists using modern technology. 200～300 single active ingredients have been isolated and a number of them being used in clinics． Modern pharmacological actions of nearly 400 recipes have been investigated and a number of jounals carrying papers on herbal pharmacology have been published．The development of herbal pharmacology could be roughly divided into two periods in the 20th Century．In the first half of the Century，actions of a number of herbs have been investigated and single compounds have been isolated.The dramatic event was the isolation and action study of ephedrine done by KK Chen．In the second half of the Century，the study of herbal drugs has been carried out not only using modern technology but also under the guidance of the theory of TCM （traditional Chinese medicine）．The emphasis has been put on the sutdy of a group（or category）of herbs and recipes. Based on these studies，theories of mechanism of action of herbs is emerging．It is hoped in the next Century that the new and systematic modern herbal pharmacology will grow mature. And it is anticipated that there will be a great leap forward in the future decades．